{"id":30,"date":"2024-09-18T18:08:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T18:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/fall-2024-volume-5-issue-3\/nursing-graduate-proves-any-dream-is-within-reach\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T18:08:55","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T18:08:55","slug":"nursing-graduate-proves-any-dream-is-within-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/fall-2024-volume-5-issue-3\/nursing-graduate-proves-any-dream-is-within-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"Nursing graduate proves \u2018any dream is within reach\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lying on a gurney before surgery, teenager Tori Thomas didn\u2019t realize her life was about to change. The nurse anesthetist who appeared beside Thomas was pretty and kind \u2026 and looked like her.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought somebody like me could be in a role like that,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, Thomas wears nurse scrubs herself, thanks to finishing San Jacinto College\u2019s licensed vocational nurse to registered nurse transition program this past May. While the nurse anesthetist might have sparked the dream, it took Thomas plenty of tears and sweat to bring that vision to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting on her feet<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Tori

Tori Thomas<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Growing up near Houston\u2019s Fifth Ward, the oldest of six, Thomas served as a second mom to her siblings.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHigh school was a blur as I juggled adult responsibilities alongside my studies,\u201d Thomas said.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When Army enlistment didn\u2019t pan out, the new high school graduate moved in with her grandma near the North Campus. Loving but tough, her grandma urged her to do something with her life. That something materialized through a San Jac certified nurse aide program flyer.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The fast-track program led to a nursing home job, then a patient care assistant role at a hospital, where Thomas saw more people like her in health care roles. She decided to return to San Jac to pursue nursing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hurdling obstacles<\/span><\/h3>\n

To say Thomas faced challenges would be an understatement.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, after she completed the certified nurse aide program, her dad and two grandparents passed away. When she started San Jac\u2019s vocational nursing program in 2021, she juggled full-time day classes, full-time night shifts, and a toddler at home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite these struggles, Thomas found support. San Jac connected her to scholarships, counseling, an on-campus food pantry, and a child care grant. North Campus day care staff and medical professionals also linked her daughter Madelyn\u2019s unusual behavior to autism.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023, Thomas started the LVN to RN transition program at the South Campus. From sleep deprivation and imposter syndrome to grueling exams, she already had enough challenges. Now she navigated transportation issues too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas zigzagged the city \u2014 dropping off Madelyn at day care or preschool, rushing to 8 a.m. classes, and booking <\/span>it to clinical sites as far as Webster and required meetings for the child care grant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge for me was to keep going,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery day was a fight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding peace in the storm<\/span><\/h3>\n

Facing these challenges, many would crumble. But even when life felt like a \u201ccomplete mess,\u201d Thomas reframed the negative and clung to her faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m going through something, I really don\u2019t worry about it because God and I already talked about this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s already set in stone. I just gotta go through the motions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2024, Thomas faced the last hurdle of her RN program \u2014 her final exams. In her most difficult class, she was barely scraping by. Again, she trusted God.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like peace in the storm,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

When she opened the final grades post, she had made the exact grade she needed to pass her hardest class.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Thomas works in a hospital emergency room, where she enjoys educating patients and showing them how to take better care of themselves. Just as she would with her daughter, she meets them where they are.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has different ways of learning, and you just have to make observations \u2014 ask the right questions,\u201d she said. \u201cI just sit there with them, and we figure it out together. That\u2019s the part I love.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reaching dreams<\/span><\/h3>\n

With the storm over, life feels surreal to Thomas now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to figure out how to be proud of myself,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not in fight-or-flight mode anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joy mixes with sadness as she remembers her biggest champions \u2014 like her close friend Danzel Atkins, her 4 a.m. wake-up call, who passed away last fall. She thanks all who encouraged her: her mom, coworkers, San Jac professors and peers, best friend Melisa, and praying grandma.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Thomas isn\u2019t done yet. She recently started San Jac\u2019s online Bachelor of Science in Nursing<\/a><\/span> program. Her ultimate dream? To become a nurse anesthetist like the one who sparked it all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy experiences have shown me that with determination and support, any dream is within reach, no matter where you come from,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about San Jac\u2019s nursing programs<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Courtney Morris<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lying on a gurney before surgery, teenager Tori Thomas didn\u2019t realize her life was about to change. The nurse anesthetist who appeared beside Thomas was pretty and kind \u2026 and looked like her. \u201cI never thought somebody like me could be in a role like that,\u201d she said. Today, Thomas wears nurse scrubs herself, thanks… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":79,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nursing","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNursing graduate proves \u2018any dream is within reach\u2019 - Fall 2024, Volume 5 \u2013 Issue 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/fall-2024-volume-5-issue-3\/nursing-graduate-proves-any-dream-is-within-reach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nursing graduate proves \u2018any dream is within reach\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lying on a gurney before surgery, teenager Tori Thomas didn\u2019t realize her life was about to change. 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